SC collegium reiterates recommendation to elevate advocate Somasekhar Sundaresan as Bombay HC judge

A collegium comprising CJI Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, and Justice KM Joseph noted that the collegium of the Bombay High Court had on October 4, 2021, recommended the name of Sundaresan and on February 16, 2022, the Supreme Court collegium had recommended his name for appointment as a judge of the Bombay High Court. However, on November 25, 2022, the Centre sought reconsideration of the said recommendation.

The Collegium said the ground on which reconsideration of the candidature of Sundaresan has been sought is that “he has aired his views in the social media on several matters which are the subject matter of consideration before the courts.”

In response, the collegium said it was “of the view that the views on social media attributed to the candidate, do not furnish any foundation to infer that he is biased.” It added, “The issues on which opinions have been attributed to the candidate are in the public domain and have been extensively deliberated upon in the print and electronic media.”

The Supreme Court collegium stated, “The manner in which the candidate has expressed his views does not justify the inference that he is a ‘highly biased opinionated person’ or that he has been ‘selectively critical on the social media on the important policies, initiatives and directions of the Government’ (as indicated in the objections of Department of Justice) nor is there any material to indicate that the expressions used by the candidate are suggestive of his links with any political party with strong ideological leanings.”

It noted that Sundaresan has specialised in commercial law and would be an asset to the Bombay High Court, which deals with a large volume of cases related to commercial and securities laws, among others.

It further said that the Department of Justice, in its objection, had referred to the Second Judges Case of 1993, which held that the candidate to be selected must possess high integrity, honesty, skill, a high order of emotional stability, firmness, serenity, legal soundness, ability, and endurance. “The candidate fulfills these qualities,” the collegium observed.

The apex court collegium finally stated, “Having regard to the above, the Collegium is of the considered view that Somasekhar Sundaresan deserves to be appointed as Judge of the Bombay High Court. The Collegium, therefore, resolves to reiterate its recommendation dated 16 February 2022 for appointment of Somasekhar Sundaresan, Advocate, as Judge of the Bombay High Court.”